The Buchou's Birthday
Summary: How Tezuka celebrated his birthday. His inner thoughts and joys of his special day while spending it with friends, family – and Fuji. [TezukaxFuji]
Disclaimer: (long forgotten. Gomen.) Prince of Tennis is not mine. We should all know that by now.
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12 midnight. It was now officially his birthday. He was still up and chatting with Fuji, who had offered to greet him with showing him a letter he had typed up especially for him (A/N: You may refer to Bloodysamurai's 'To Love', chapter 8 of 'Things You Don't Know' for this one). A small smile crept up the buchou's features before he finally came to terms with his need to sleep and ended that conversation with the tensai the usual way before heading to bed.
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A few hours later, the stoic teen had woken up – without the help of his alarm clock – and was promptly greeted by his parents, who came into his room. Thanking them kindly for the greetings, he shrugged it off and turned on his side to get at least another hour of sleep before calling it enough to get ready for the day.
Tezuka did indeed wake up an hour later to a few messages on his phone – 'No doubt birthday greetings', he thought to himself – before promptly heading to the shower. He was going to spend lunch with his classmates while bowling – his parents had suggested it, and he couldn't possibly refuse the offer – around two games with them. He had spent the past few days preparing the team order – which was not an easy task when you had 24 people to work with.
Tezuka left with his parents – who were as excited as he was in this celebration, it seems – to the bowling alley, and it took them a good half hour until most of the buchou's classmates arrived and were playing eagerly.
While Tezuka had enjoyed the company of his classmates, he felt that something was missing. You might call him being 'out of it', considering he rarely got strikes or spares in the two games that were played, and allowed himself to be beaten by the better of his classmates.
Tezuka headed home with his parents afterwards, still confused why he was feeling uneasy and incomplete. As he set some of the gifts his classmates had courteously given him on his desk, he looked over to his bed, where two stuffed animals were sitting there, staring back at him – his stuffed rabbit Diego and Kurt (A/N: You should know him to be introduced in Chapter 2). He smirked to himself in realization.
'So it's him I'm waiting for now, is it?' he thought to himself, shaking his head as he headed back downstairs.
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Oishi was the first to arrive among the regulars. The vice-captain gave a quick clap on the buchou's shoulder before holding out a wrapped gift to Tezuka. Tezuka guided Oishi off to a room where they settled down and watched some television to pass the time.
Tezuka, having opened his other gifts already, proceeded to open Oishi's and found a rather thick book. He gave a nod of approval and thanks to his vice-captain before setting it down on the nearby table.
Kikumaru was the next to arrive, eagerly glomping his buchou before handing Tezuka his gift. A silly grin came across the acrobatic player's lips as they returned to the room where Tezuka had led Oishi to. Kikumaru glomped his doubles partner endearingly as Tezuka opened his gift – a pair of jeans for the buchou's leisure trips.
It didn't take long before Fuji arrived, who was dropped off by his sister Yumiko. Tezuka attended to Fuji, giving the boy a warm smile before ushering him into the room with Oishi and Kikumaru. It wasn't long before the rest of the regulars arrived; Kawamura arriving last with the food.
The heavens were literally smiling down on Tezuka on his special day; a conjunction of Jupiter, Venus and the Moon – a thin crescent – could be seen in the night sky (A/N: December 1, 2008. True story. Search for it!), as Tezuka's mother had pointed out to them.
To the surprise of the current regulars who were in attendance, Tezuka had invited another guest – Yamato-buchou. Tezuka, Fuji, Oishi, Kikumaru and Yamato-buchou shared a table out in the foyer and chatted about things over a dinner spread of lasagna, fish and chips, pizza, salad and spring rolls to choose from.
Tezuka sat himself between Kikumaru and Fuji during dinner, wondering in his head how things were going to go afterwards. The group had proceeded back to the room. After much conversation and bonding among the five who had grouped together – with some rare smiles coming from Tezuka, overwhelmed with the gathering of these people to celebrate his birthday with him -, Kikumaru was the first to depart, followed not long after by Yamato-buchou and Oishi.
Before he knew it, Fuji was the only one left, and Yumiko nee-san was going to be a little late in picking him up. Tezuka brought Fuji upstairs to his room for a moment, where Diego and Kurt were waiting for affection, attended to by Fuji almost immediately.
'Syusuke… Your sister seems to know to have you waiting this long…' Tezuka thought to himself as he led Fuji back downstairs to the room they had occupied earlier that night and settled onto the couch with him – carrying Diego and Kurt along with them.
Tezuka took off his glasses as they absent-mindedly watched a few programs on the television while in each other's arms. The stoic teen rested his head on Fuji's shoulder and closed his eyes.
Beat.
Tezuka could hear Fuji's heart beating a bit faster before they found themselves looking at one another in awkward silence. With a mention of cake – which Tezuka urged the tensai to bring home – they leaned forward and kissed each other on the lips for a brief moment.
"I love you."
Those words echoed in Tezuka's mind long after he had said it. How many times had he declared that to Fuji? Not enough, it seemed. He mentally sighed, scolding himself for not having done this sooner.
'But… I'm glad… That we did it now… There's no more doubt… No more insecurities, ne Syusuke?'
The words were repeated, and another kiss followed. This, Tezuka thought, was how he wanted to remember his birthday. It was quarter to midnight when Fuji had received a text from Yumiko stating that she was there. Tezuka, abandoning his glasses on the couch, escorted Fuji out to the front gate to see his boyfriend off.
'Oyasumi, Syusuke…' he mentally greeted as they parted ways, offering the tensai a nod and a genuine smile. 'I love you…'
As the clock struck midnight, it signaled the end of Tezuka's birthday. The stoic teen settled himself on his bed and closed his eyes, smiling seemingly at nothing. 'If only you knew, Syusuke… If I had spent today alone with you… I would've been equally satisfied… Perhaps…even more…'
TBC
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Note: Birthday celebration slightly follows mine (which IS on December 1st). Connected to Bloodysamurai's 'Things You Don't Know' Chapter 9.